Subaru Outback Questions & Answers (page 2 of 2)

Everyone is different, but I find the seats fine. I have never had a Camry, but we moved to the Outback from a Honda Accord. I especially like the slightly higher seating and increased visibility out of the Outback. I can say this: Since we have had the Outback we have driven from Queensland to Melbourne and Adelaide (separate trips) and in Dec. we drove to Perth racking up about 15,000 km in four weeks. I can't say we never got tired of riding, but we thought it was as good as the Honda Accord. Furthermore the increased ground clearance made all the difference on dirt, gravel, and sand. Perhaps not everyone would agree, but I find the Outback a very comfortable ride and a great all around car in which to travel. In fact, we are planning on selling this one to our son and buying another new one at year end.

As you would have noticed that although outback competes in the SUV segment it's not really that Tall Boy types (like forester) and hence pretty good with speed breakers. Personally I found seats comfortable and they even have adjustable back support but then everyone is different.

Comfy car was so impressed we bought one good boot space handles well quiet eats up the miles and enjoyable to drive 2017 diesel model But already having issues with the dpf hope Subaru sort it or Toyota might be our next choice do love the car pleasure to drive but thinking we maybe should have opted for a petrol variant .

Hi - We purchased a Subaru outback 3.6 - if you can afford the extra money for the six cylinder you wont regret it. Love the car, finish, ride, handling and engine performance. It also has more towing capacity. I would recommend looking at it.

Thankyou

Assuming you don't drive it hard, you definitely have a car which is using a lot more than what it should. The first thing to do is check for petrol leaks.

No i dont drive harsh... i recently got my car inspected by a subaru specialist... they didnt find anything at all. Another mechanic told the air filter is high time to get changed. He will replace it soon. Will that be the cause?

I have no problems with my seating adjustment. my car is Subaru Outback 2.5i premier M15. Is the dealer able to help ?

Kind of difficult in that a Flat Spot is a very different symptom to a miss.
A miss suggests something electrical not performing the way it should.
A flat spot suggests a fuel flow/pressure issue.
Is it possible that you are chasing two different issues and assuming that they are one and the same?

My local mechanic has said that it is more likely 'fuel flow' related - but when he has connected 'tablet' to the dashboard output it does not show up any problem?
Could it be blockage in the fuel line near the tank or something to do with fuel injection?
Thanks, Mike Finn

There is a myriad of possibilities to this. Starving for fuel can cause a flat spot, A worn throttle position switch can cause a flat spot. I agree with Steve T that a miss and Flat spot are 2 separate issues. get your mechanic to check fuel pressure whilst driving under load. Are the compression's all even? Does that model have adjustable valve clearances and is so are they correct. The heads have been off and maybe the valves need resetting. Have the injectors been flow tested.

Well its always best to get a qualified mechanic like nrma for pre purchase inspection. check the revs story, check about the smoke comeout from exhaust. The auto try to put on drive mode if the idle vibrate abnormal means the transmission problem gonna cost you problem and check for oil leak

Thanks Ay. I am quite thorough when it comes to car inspections and have avoided a few duds already. Will definitely get my mechanic to give it a good checkover before parting with my hard earned $.

Natalie to answer your question properly; the type of driving needs to be considered ie
City driving that figure can be considered good.
On country driving you should be able to get around 550km using high obtain fuel... Less using unleaded...
I always use high octane fuel for country trips...and staight unleaded round town.
Check your tyre pressers are correct; if too low that will impact ... If over inflated will be dangerous in the wet.
Don't carry unnecessary weight in car may have some impact as well
Hope this helps Al

Allan, thanks for your response. I do use high octane fuel but will check the tyres again. But good to know that it is sounding normal. Although, I understand this is a 4WD, I don't think this is particularly good to only get 400kms from a tank. Natalie

Hi Natalie, is your Outback the 6 cylinder? If so these numbers are to be expected. If it is the 4 cylinder with the CVT than I would expect around 11l in the city at the most, unless it's bumper to bumper traffic on a daily basis. You should be getting 600km at this rate. If this isn't you, check your tires and the substances of the fuel your putting into your car? Hope this helps.

PS: Drive conservatively, accelerate smoothly and unnecessarily at all costs.

That seems normal to me though if you still are concerned perhaps you could try asking that question to a suburu office or one of their workshop mechanics

That's normal ...you say it is getting hot you do realise you can turn the air conditioning nob:-
Anti clockwise to lower internal temp
Clock wise to increase temp. don't you?
You can also push button to get an economy mode to...

Your Subaru Outback should not get hot, in fact on the temperature gauge they often run at less than half when normal running temperature is reached. Subaru's are notorious for leaking head gaskets and if yours has overheated you could end up needing to have this job done which costs an arm and a leg. I am assuming you are referring to the radiator cooling fans when you say they only come on if you turn on the AC. The fans turn on automatically when you turn on your AC, (this is to ensure adequate air flow through the AC condenser which is like a thin radiator in-front of the engines coolant radiator especially when stopped or driving at low speeds ) however with AC off they should also cut in automatically once the engine reaches a temperature greater than that of the temperature sensor. You may have a faulty engine temperature sensor in which case have it replaced immediately. Also if you have boiled the vehicle at any stage I would replace the thermostat and seal as once boiled, thermostats can jam shut, which will overheat your engine due to lack of circulating coolant. Often the first head gasket to leak coolant is the passengers side at the back of the head. You may smell a weird smell when you pull up as coolant drips onto the hot exhaust and evaporates. :-)

Sorry only have experience with petrol models up to 2005.

Same with pretty much all the Diesel Outback manuals (new one is also CVT box) - the problem is the gearing, as well as the nature of the turbo engine. Both 1st and 2nd are slightly too tall, and from stand-still take off it is off-boost for a split second before it spools up, but the revs stay low because of the gearing. I think they did it all for fuel economy, but it means I (30 years experience) still stall it occasionally, and trying to negotiate shopping centre car-parks in 2nd are painful, dropping to first or slipping the clutch constantly. Steep hill-starts also need revs and clutch-slip to get a move on. Along with the notchy shifter these are my gripes in an otherwise good car (100,000km, average 6.6l/100km, still on original clutch, OEM Geosquelers just got replaced with Pirelli rubber). Note, when new, my wife used to stall it frequently as she was used to her Mazda3, but she has gotten to used to it now when she drives it.

This is not perculiar to the Subaru. I had the same experience when test driving a Skoda Octavia Scout (awd) diesel. If you take off in a petrol car without slipping the clutch enough, the spark will still fire and you may get enough warning of a stall to adjust the controls to save it. With a diesel however, if the compression speed is not sufficient to ignite the fuel, the engine stops dead immediately. Something has to give (slip) to allow the engine to spin at at least idle speed until the wheels are going fast enough to allow it. With AWD and traction control, tyre slip is not an option.
Also see "http://boxerdiesel.com/engineering/en/05.html" last paragraph.
My wife never stalls our Outback diesel, I think because she is not afraid to slip the clutch or use more accelerator pressure at take-off where as I tend to be a bit too gentle with it at times in the hope of preserving the clutch and fuel.
Once the car is moving, it will climb steep inclines at very low revs (near idle).

Hi Al49er, I'd have the car checked by your states Autoclub (RAC or similar). The charge is under $200 and well worth it as it will give you a condition report and a good idea of what visibly needs attention. I'd also be asking the owner for repair/part replacement receipts etc so you know what as been performed in the service history.

Second to that, timing belts (Subaru's do have belts) need to changed at 150K intervals (an update from the previous 100K interval). You would want to be having the brake discs and drums checked and other wearing parts.

Wheel bearings are a normal replacement after about 200K or more, with variables depending on the load the car has been used for (towing etc). A WB repair is in the order of $300 a repair.

I have had two Subaru, an L series for 9 years and my 2001 Outback for 5. The latter has done 190K now and performs well and after 5 years I have only had to spend $1800 on normal major repairs recently.

My fuel performance is about 650km for 55L city driving.

Having said all that, I am sure there are a lot of Outback models out there that have done a lot less than 315Km out there to be purchased, though there does seem to be a lot that have!

Just bought a 2002 outback with 270,000kms on it, well looked after. Drives like a dream. Had a couple of subaru's over the years, all bullet proof. Glad to be back in one. Reckon I'll get another 200,000 ks out of this one.

Update on my subaru. Had it 9 months without a problem but then had to get a gear box. Got a recon for $3,500. All good again but 3 months later it now looks like the head gasket is on it's way out which I'm told is even more expensive to fix than the gear box. Apparently these sort of issues arise around the 250,000km mark with many of the Outbacks. I'm hoping once I have to replace that it will be good for another 10 years cause if not, what was a good buy initially will end up being expensive.

I have a 2011 Outback Diesel which has now done over 70k. No issues with the crankshaft, not aware of any either. If you buy new you'll be under factory warranty for 3 years anyway. Reasons for purchase - 'real' AWD, not part-time or on-demand like most others inlcuding your other alternatives, roomier, especially in the back seat then nearly all others. Looked at CX7 as an alternative, but the Outback won me over. Maybe look at the new Forester if you prefer the compact SUV look. Don't know how the new CVT Auto will drive, but the 2.0D engine has great economy, overall average is 6.6, drops to fives on trips, normal suburban range is about 850km, on trips over 1000 per tank. This is outstandng for a family car of this size.

Bazza, you say auto say I guess that's a petrol engine - but which one?

Hey I have a 2010 Diesel Outback. Crankshaft snapped at a 155000km. I have perfect service history and predominately do highway driving. They fixed it under warranty.

It appears they fixed the issues on models dating 2011 onwards but I'm not 100% sure.

Your car is still under warranty - I'd get it checked out by the servicing dealer, and if no satisfaction, take it to pedders, as it sounds like a suspension problem. My 2011 Outback Diesel has done about 60K, no problems like this.

sway bar bushes ?

Maybe the reporting is closer to the truth?

Sorry mate. Wouldn't have a clue.

My 2006 Outback 2.5 manual dual range, has just had its 70,000KLM service and the fuel consumption is getting better on long trips. I have always used Premium 85 Octane from new and the last trip with three adults and luggage sitting on 110kms/h getting 8.5 including a small amount (30kms) off road. City, between 9-10 I live in the hills of Adelaide so the Subbie always ge's a work out. I have the tires at 38psi cold, a bit rougher ride but better braking and economy. I did an advanced driving course and this was the main topic, tyre pressures are very important.
Cheers mldesign